Providing some input on my Tornador Experiences

**TTQ B4U** · 09-25-2019, 10:03 AM

Every few months I try and expand upon my arsenal of tools and techniques as I dive deeper and more focused on what it is I do in detailing. For months new I've eyed up and been curious about the Tornado systems and what they are about. Several weeks back I set up my compressor system and invested in the product. I actually bought two Tornado Black units and their Velocity Vac System as well. Long story short, I LOVE it and will absolutely be integrating it more and more as time goes on.

So where I began was with the compressor. Happy to answer any questions for those interested because it has truly been a fun learning experience at setting all this up. I also feel I've have nailed down process and equipment pretty well and am happy to pay-forward what I've learned along the way.

Meet my set up: 60 gal, 11.5cfm single stage oiled compressor from Home Depot. Husky is their house brand. I also strongly considered the 175psi Kobalt, house brand from lowes, which is also very nice and perhaps bump up from mine but I had to cap a budget and make decisions. Overall, I'm very happy. It drives the tool non stop and still fills the reserve very fast and combined keeps me well within the 50% operating time duty cycle these consumer compressors have. Zero issues with the hardware.

I tucked it away in the back right corner of my garage and am going to use the shipping pallet as a nice base. Solid, vibration free and very secure yet portable enough to move out of the way for cleaning, future floor work and repositioning if needed.

Gun wise, the key to great operation is to ensure a full 85-90psi reaches the gun and that the air flow of 4.5 to 6cfm reaches the gun. On one of the guns I put a small in-line gauge to help with this. Once set up however, It's easy to maintain pressure but it's a good guide to keep an eye on when using it. I left this one on the Velocity Vac tool where airflow is more critical given it's a dual purpose unit with a different shape to the cone.

Here are both of the guns side by side from some testing I did last night. The only add-on change I may make is to put a 90 degree elbow on the end of the gun for it's connection. I love the swivel but it protrudes down too far with the swivel on it and thus I can't set it down flat on the floor. Will be looking at that today.

For now I'm going to post this first of many replies that I'll be putting up in hopes that it helps provide some useful information to others. I found a lot of posts and information but not much in the way of deep useful information and I hope to change that as time goes on.

**Dr Oldz** · 09-25-2019, 10:29 AM

Very nice. Love it!!

I suggest in the future plumbing the air lines with multiple receptacles thru the garage. Makes it so nice to just plug in at multiple spots and allows for a shorter air hose. The piping also adds to the Reservoir for a bit extra capacity.

**TTQ B4U** · 09-25-2019, 10:37 AM

Now in terms of testing out and getting used to the tool(s) and how I will integrate them into the workflow I have I started small but unfortunately didn't start with many pics but did want to provide some input.

Velocity Vac Tool.

Dry Vacuuming.....Here is where the velocity vac tool excels above a traditional shop vac. I've completed everything from basic daily driver dirt, to a Subaru wagon that had a vacation at the beach and then my wife's personal car that is pure black inside that had several visits from our black and white pit bull mix. Think dragging a cotton ball on your face before you shave. Ugh.....

In ALL cases the clean up was a snap and the Velocity Vac paid for itself. Zero issues using it and picking up any and all of the above. My biggest love for it was in the time savings. I literally knocked out a deep cleaning of all these situations in less than 10-15 minutes. Thus if you're looking for a way to clean deeper, better, more thorough and in less time, the Velocity Vac is the way to go. I'll do my best to post up some before and after pics soon and perhaps link them here. Until then however, I wanted to share this.

Wet Cleaning with the Tornador:

Here too looking at where this is going to fit into my routine of cleaning is proving interesting. I have three main needs to secure when doing interior fabric:

1. Dry Vacuum - All set now with the Velocity Vac. If I'm in need of a deep powerful clean, it has me covered.
2. Light Wet cleaning - This is where I target the Tonador. It's super-fast and easy to use. If the fabrics are lightly soiled and can benefit from more than just a vacuum but are at a point where a customer doesn't want to pay for a FULL Steam Extraction, this opens up a new offering between the two. It's also a nice "little something extra" that is on the table to impress.
3. Deep Wet cleaning - I will likely use a combination velocity vac and Steam Extraction

So how well does it work with extraction? You be the judge. I normally would do floor mats with a power washer but for test purposes and visuals, I did them here with the Tornador simply because they are representative of a vehicles carpet but in a way are usually more hammered with dirt.

Cleaning wise I pre-treated / sprayed Folex on them and let it dwell for a few minutes. In the solution bottle I used about 4oz of Folex and then topped off the rest with just plain water. Tool wise, these were cleaned with the Velocity Vac connected to a portable 4hp shop vac that I'm finding is best and easy to use for my "wet" extraction. I just don't want the nice wall-mount I have with 30ft of hose to be used with nasty wet messes. The small one is just easier to clean.

Here's a 50/50 of a nasty floor mat. Two passes with Velocity vac.

As you can see, if it can do the above to a nasty floor mat, it's power an capability on regular carpet inside a vehicle will be huge. I love that it uses less water thus speeds drying time too.

Another silly example of play is on two card table chairs I keep in my garage. They've seen better days and had their share of spills on them. However with just a single pass, this time using the Tornador Black blower tube with a light mist of liquid then a quick wipe-down with a microfiber rag.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

**TTQ B4U** · 09-25-2019, 10:41 AM

Originally Posted by Dr Oldz

Very nice. Love it!!

I suggest in the future plumbing the air lines with multiple receptacles thru the garage. Makes it so nice to just plug in at multiple spots and allows for a shorter air hose. The piping also adds to the Reservoir for a bit extra capacity.

I thought about it but space is only 22x22 thus the main drop from the ceiling is all I need. I just wanted to keep it simple. If I did multiple drops then I'd have hoses from those points to my work space to deal with. Here I just have a single Flexzilla hose and it's very clean and simple. The smaller 1/4" coiled hose in the background is 25ft and it is good for filling tires or using a simple blow gun. The real is 50 ft. in length.

One add I have for folks is that the compressor will allow for 2 minutes of full on use before it kicks on to refill. If I stop using the tool it takes 1:25 to get back up to full at 155psi. If I keep working non-stop, it runs for just under 2:45 seconds to refill then pauses for another 2 minutes.

**Dr Oldz** · 09-25-2019, 12:10 PM

Ahhh ok. Gotcha. From the pics I assumed it was a lot bigger!!

Anyway, great post and thanks for sharing. I always considered those tools but never pulled the trigger. I may now!

**SWETM** · 09-25-2019, 01:24 PM

Awesome write up and review TTQ B4U!

Don't know how it is but does the Tornador Black needs less air cfm than the Classic one? IIRC it is so and something that didn't came out when the Tornador Black got introduced. The problem was at least for the ones that uses it on their own vehicals that the Tornador Classic and all of the copys needed so much of stable psi and high cfm. So if they don't have a well thought through air compressor like you have and done. They where in for a surprise when the air didn't last and took more than it build up with the refilling of the air. So you needed to be haveing a quite big air compressor than the useally common ones. And those who bought them put them in the back of products not used. The bearing that the nozzle in the Tornador Black made for a difference to get more effective. To easier maintain it's power from the rotation of the nozzle and also spinning way faster. This is also something that you don't have in the Classic copies at least and don't think it's so in the Tornador Classic either but not sure about that. But it gets a little pricey to get that bigger air compressor you often needs to be getting and the Tornador Black. And then the Velocity Vac extension on that. In a business I can certainly see a benefit with the investment to it. And all of the air compressor tools you can get and which is very good these days. As the noise from them is lowered with them who has the muffler on them is awesome.

The pictures from the floor mats and the chairs looks awesome. Do you use it on the dashboard and other places in the interior too? The door jambs and like that I have seen it been used on too. Just with the Tornador and a little chemical output. Which seemed to go fast and also cleaned well. I would love to have a Tornador Black and the Velocity Vac. But would be doing more vehicals if it would be worth it for me. Awesome that it works so great for you and the time saved.

Car Craft Auto Detailing Channel on Youtube did a video about it for almost 2 years ago. It looked very impresive of what you can do with it. And will be interesting to see some more pictures from your work with it.

/ Tony

**PaulMys** · 09-25-2019, 08:28 PM

Very cool review, Tom.

So..... That flag above the compressor doesn't hinder the performance at all? Lol.

**TTQ B4U** · 09-26-2019, 07:50 AM

Originally Posted by Dr Oldz

Ahhh ok. Gotcha. From the pics I assumed it was a lot bigger!! Anyway, great post and thanks for sharing. I always considered those tools but never pulled the trigger. I may now!

Workspace:

I wish it was a 3 bay garage but I'm thankful for what I have and make the most of it. It's a typical suburban dad/family garage but I keep it as streamlined as possible. I have both my wall mounted vac and the air hose set up so they will reach out well into the driveway too thus I don't have to have a vehicle in the garage to get work done. Sometimes it's just nice to work outside. So far I really enjoy the tools thus if you're considering it, pick one up on the next 20-25% off sale as that's when I pulled the trigger. I only bought two so I can use them side by side without having to put the Velocity Vac set up on/off so much.

Originally Posted by SWETM

Awesome write up and review TTQ B4U!

Airflow and power needed:

Don't know how it is but does the Tornador Black needs less air cfm than the Classic one? IIRC it is so and something that didn't came out when the Tornador Black got introduced. The problem was at least for the ones that uses it on their own vehicals that the Tornador Classic and all of the copys needed so much of stable psi and high cfm. So if they don't have a well thought through air compressor like you have and done. They where in for a surprise when the air didn't last and took more than it build up with the refilling of the air. So you needed to be haveing a quite big air compressor than the useally common ones. And those who bought them put them in the back of products not used. The bearing that the nozzle in the Tornador Black made for a difference to get more effective. To easier maintain it's power from the rotation of the nozzle and also spinning way faster. This is also something that you don't have in the Classic copies at least and don't think it's so in the Tornador Classic either but not sure about that. But it gets a little pricey to get that bigger air compressor you often needs to be getting and the Tornador Black. And then the Velocity Vac extension on that. In a business I can certainly see a benefit with the investment to it. And all of the air compressor tools you can get and which is very good these days. As the noise from them is lowered with them who has the muffler on them is awesome.

Tornador and Dennis there do say the Black unit uses less air. I can't confirm this but I do know the black still uses a lot of air. The rotational set is FAR Superior on the Black and easy to maintain. Key is to avoid very harsh corrosive cleaners and to keep it cleaned with some WD40.

In terms of Compressors and Costs, it does add up. The first thing to consider even with smaller 120v 30gal portable units is if your outlets are set up to run it properly. Even those units should be driven off a 30amp outlet of which many garages are only set up with 20amp units. It's the initial "ON" then the repeated ON/OFF that draws the most power and then can cause a breaker to pop or lights to dim, etc. Thus my suggestion is to upgrade your breaker at the control panel if the wiring used supports it. It should but it's something one should have an electrician verify.

Personal or Professional:

If it were just for my personal cars, I would have gone 1/2 the price on the compressor and bought a 30 gal, sealed/non-oiled unit and called it a day. It would likely over-run the duty cycle of it but again, if it was just my person vehicles, it would be okay as it wouldn't get hammered. My style is to go-bigger and better and given I am looking to do more interior work, 1-2 per weekend, I wanted something more substantial. Nice thing about the Husky is Home Depot sold a 5yr on-site repair/replacement for just over $100 so I know I'm good for at least 5yrs but hopefully it will far outlast that time. There's not much to them, just a motor, piston set and the tank. I can order parts and repair it down the road if needed. Noise wise, it's fine. I won't run it past 9pm at night as I live in a quiet area but even during the day it's not like the neighbors are really going to hear it.

The pictures from the floor mats and the chairs looks awesome. Do you use it on the dashboard and other places in the interior too? The door jambs and like that I have seen it been used on too. Just with the Tornador and a little chemical output. Which seemed to go fast and also cleaned well. I would love to have a Tornador Black and the Velocity Vac. But would be doing more vehicles if it would be worth it for me. Awesome that it works so great for you and the time saved.
Car Craft Auto Detailing Channel on Youtube did a video about it for almost 2 years ago. It looked very impressive of what you can do with it. And will be interesting to see some more pictures from your work with it. / Tony

Interior Use:

Thanks! Yeah, the mats turned out great. Again, they were just a simulation of very dirty carpet too. Most interiors don't get THAT hammered but some do and it's nice to know it can handle even the worst ones. LOL, I even did our dinning room chairs the other night. My wife thought I was nuts but they are like brand new and only took 3-4 minutes per. I have used it on door panels with liquid. The amount of liquid dispensed is easily controlled and the great thing is it uses VERY little product as the air does most of the scrubbing. It doesn't fully replace a good microfiber towel but what it does do is clean the seems and crevices better than before. No more small brushes or what not needed. Then just a light wipe with a towel and I'm done. Air only works great on vents and center consoles. Unlike some I've seen use it, I treat it like a steamer and I stay clear of any electronics or switches. Not worth the risks.

My only insight that I rarely see people on YouTube, etc us is a respirator. I absolutely would NOT use it inside a vehicle without one. It really atomizes up the product and makes it airborne thus without a good quality paint-shop quality respirator, one would be breathing in chemicals and muck. NO WAY would I want that. It's not expensive nor difficult to use but it is something I would definitely add to the ones shopping cart. Outside the car It's really not an issue but still worth using.

Originally Posted by PaulMys

Very cool review, Tom.

So..... That flag above the compressor doesn't hinder the performance at all? Lol.

haha! It's certainly inspiration to keep pushing forth!

**SWETM** · 09-26-2019, 08:47 AM

Great call on the need to be useing a good respirator!

Yeah it's amazing how the chemical and dirt build up atomizes up in the air.

I have the small air compressor around maybe 7-8 gallons LOL. So blow out the pads is almost just what it's capable of. I see more uses is it the Sumake blowgun IIRC. It's like the Tornador Black but without the chemical bottle. They seems to be a very fast cleaning of polishing pads between sections. Have also seen it like a mini blowgun where it's the size of the normal air blowgun but with a small rotating nozzle. With a normal blowgun it feels like I need to be haveing the polisher on and then blow clean it from the center of the pad and out. With something like the Tornador Black or Air Blowgun the need to be haveing the polisher on goes away. Maybe it works great with the Tornador Black and pad cleaner solution in the chemical bottle to clean the pads with. Then turn the chemical mix setting off and blow off the moist left in the pad.

In the future if I'm going to be upgrading the air compressor to a bigger one. A Tornador Black and the Velocity Vac is something on the list to get to that. I have 400v electric outlets in the garage. So there are room for the power of the air compressor LOL.